Harari language
Harari | |
---|---|
Native to | Ethiopia |
Region | Harari Region |
Native speakers | 120,000 (2007 census)[1] |
Ge'ez (Harari syllabary) | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
har |
Glottolog |
hara1271 [2] |
Harari is the language of the Harari people of Ethiopia. According to the 1998 Ethiopian census, it is spoken by 21,283 people. Most of its speakers are multilingual in Amharic and/or Eastern Oromo. Harari is closely related to the Eastern Gurage languages Zay and Silt'e. Locals or natives of Harar refer to it as GÄ“ sinÄn "language of the City" (GÄ“ is the word for how Harari speakers refer to Harar, whose name is an exonym).[3]
Originally written in the Arabic script, it has recently converted to the Ge'ez script.
Vowels
/æ, a, e, ai, ɪ, i/
Grammar
Nouns
Number
The noun has two numbers, Singular and Plural. The affix -ách changes singulars into plurals:
- aboch, a man; abochách, men.
- wandaq, a servant; wandaqách, servants.
- gár, a house; gárách, houses.
Nouns ending in the long á or à become plural without reduplicating this letter:
- gáfá, a slave; gáfách (for gáfáách), slaves.
- gubná, a harlot; gubnách, harlots.
- lijji, a son; lijjách (for lijjiách), sons.
- qabri, a grave; qabrách (for qabriách), graves.
/s/ alternates with /z/:
- farez, a horse; farazásh, horses.
- iráz, a cloth; irázách, cloths.
Gender
Masculine nouns may be converted into feminines by three processes. The first changes the terminal vowel into -it, or adds -it to the terminal consonant:
- rágá, an old man; rágÃt, an old woman.
- buchÃ, male dog; buchÃt, female dog
- wasÃf, a slave boy; wasÃfÃt, a slave girl.
Animals of different sexes have different names. and this forms the second process:
- bárá, an ox; lám, a cow.
The third and the most common way of expressing sex is by means of aboch, "male or man," and inistÃ: woman, " female, corresponding to English " he-" and " she-":
- faraz, a stallion; inisti faraz, a mare.
- aboch baghl, a he mule; inisti baghl, a she mule.
Pronouns
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
1 | Ãn | Innách or Inyách. |
2 | Akhákh | Akhákhách |
3 | Azo | (383) Aziyách |
The affixed pronouns or possessives attached to nouns are:--
Singular.
- 1st Pers. - e, my or mine. : Gár-e, my house.
- 2nd Pers. - khá, thy or thine. Gár-khá, thy house.
- 3rd Pers. - zo, or - so, his. Gár-zo, his house.
Plural.
- 1st Pers. - zinya or sinya, our. : Gár-zinya, our house.
- 2nd Pers. - kho, your. Gár-kho, your house.
- 3rd Pers. - zinyo or sinyo, their. Gár-zinyo, their house. (384)
In the same way attached pronouns are affixed to verbs:
- Sit-ayn: give (thou to) me.
- Sit-ana: give (thou to) us.
The demonstrative pronouns are:
- Sing. YÃ, this.
- Yá, that.
- Plur. YÃásh, or yÃ'ach, these.
- Yá'ásh, or yá'ách, those.
The interrogative pronouns are the following:
- Mántá: who?
- Mintá: what?
- Ãn atte hárkho: I myself went.
- Akhákh attekh hárkhÃ: thou thyself wentest.
- Azo attezo háre: he himself went.
Verbs
The following are the two auxiliary verbs:
Past | Present | Imperative | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Affirmative | Negative | Affirmative | Negative | ||||
Person | (s) | 1 | Ãn narkhú. | Ãn alnárkhúm. | Ãn halkho. | Ãn elkhúm. | |
2 | Akhákh nárkhÃ. | Akhákh alnárkhÃm. | Akhákh halkhÃ. | Akhákh elkhÃm. | Hal. | ||
3 | Azo nárá. | Azo alnárum. | Azo hal (<A>). | Azo elúm. | |||
(pl) | 1 | Inyásh nárná. | Inyásh alnárum. | Inyásh halna. | Inyásh elnám. | ||
2 | Akhákhásh narkhú. | Akhákhásh alnárkhúm. | Akhákhásh halkhú. | Akhákhásh elkhúm. | Halkhú. | ||
3 | Aziyásh nárú. | Aziyásh alnárúm. | Aziyásh halú | Aziyásh elúm. |
Past Tense.
- Sing. 1. I became: Ãn ikanà náarkho.
- 2. Thou becamest: Akhákh tikánà nárkhÃ.
- 3. He became: Azo ikáni nárá.
- Plur. 1. We became: Innásh nikánà nárná.
- 2. Ye became: Akhákhásh tikánà nárkhú.
- 3. They became: Aziyásh ikánà nárú.
Present Tense.
- Sing. 1. I become: Ãn ikánákh.
- 2. Thou becomest: Akhákh tikánákh.
- 3. He becomes: Azo ikánál.
- Plur. 1. We become: Inyásh nikánáná.
- 2. Ye become: Akhákhásh tikánákhu.
- 3. They become: Aziyásh ikánálú.
Imperative.
- Become thou, "Kanni". Become ye, "Kánnú".
Prohibitive.
- Sing. 2. Become not, ikánnimekh.
- Plur. 2. Become not ye, ikánnumekh.
Past Tense.
(Affirmative Form.)
- Sing. 1. I went, Ãn letkho.
- 2. Thous wentest, Akhákh letkhÃ.
- 3. He went, Azo leta.
- Plur. 1. We went, Inyásh letna.
- 2. Ye went, Akhákhásh letkhú.
- 3. They went, Aziyásh letú.
(Negative Form.)
- Sing. 1. I went not, Ãn alletkhúm.
- 2. Thou wentest not, Akbákh alletkhÃm.
- 3. He went not, Azo alletám.
- Plur. 1. We went not, Inyásh aletnám.
- 2. Ye went not, Akhákásh alletkhúm.
- 3. They went not, Aziyásh alletúm.
Present Tense.
(Affirmative Form.)
- 1. I go, Ãn iletákh 1. Inyásh niletáná.
- 2. Thou goest, Akhákh tiletÃnakh 2. Akhákhásh tiletákhú.
- 3. He goes, Azo yiletál 3. Aziyásh yiletálú.
(Negative Form.)
- Sing. 1. I go not, Ãn iletumekh.
- 2. Thou goest not, Akhákh tiletumekh.
- 3. He goes not, Azo iletumel.
- Plur. 1. We go not, Inyásh niletumens.
- 2. Ye go not, Akhákhash tiletumekhú.
- 3. They go not, Aziyásh iletuelú.
- Sing. 1. I will go, Ãn iletle halkho.
- 2. Thou wilt go, Akháhk tiletle halkhÃ.
- 3. He will go, Azo iletle hal.
- Plur. 1. We will go, Inyásh niletle halns.
- 2. Ye will go, Akhákhásh tiletle halkhú.
- 3. They will go, Aziyásh niletle halns.
References
- ↑ Ethiopia 2007 Census
- ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Harari". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Leslau 1959, p. 276.
Works cited
- Abdurahman Garad and Ewald Wagner. 1998. Harari-Studien : Texte mit Übersetzung, grammatischen Skizzen und Glossar. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-03937-X.
- Cerulli, Enrico. “La lingua e la storia di Harar†in Studi Etiopici, vol. I, 1936 (Roma).
- Gardner, Simon and Ralph Siebert. 2001. "Sociolinguistic survey report of the Zay language area." SIL Electronic Survey Reports, 2002-024. PDF
- Cohen, Marcel. 1931. Etudes d'éthiopien méridional. Paris. pp. 243–354.
- Leslau, Wolf (1937). "Contributions a l'etude du harari (Abyssinie meridionale)". Journal Asiatique 229.
- Leslau, Wolf. 1958. The verb in Harari : (South Ethiopic). Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Leslau, Wolf (1965). Ethiopians speak: studies in cultural background. University of California Press.
- Leslau, Wolf (1959). "An Analysis of the Harari Vocabulary". Annales d'Ethiopie 3 (1): 275–298. doi:10.3406/ethio.1959.1310.
- Mondon-Vidailhet, François Marie Casimir. 1902. La langue Harari et les dialectes Ethiopies du Gouraghe. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.
- Wagner, Ewald. 1983. Harari-Texte in arabischer Schrift : mit Übersetzung und Kommentar. Wiesbaden: F. Steiner.
External links
- World Atlas of Language Structures information on Harari
- Harraris.com
- Grammatical Outline and Vocabulary of the Harari Language
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